NEWS RELEASE

Minneapolis, Minn. – On January 13, 2015, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation named Liz Hawn and R.T. Rybak to its 20-member Board of Directors. Hawn, a community leader and philanthropist, and Rybak, former Minneapolis Mayor and Executive Director of Generation Next, assumed their three-year Directorships at the Parks Foundation’s annual meeting, when community leader Sue Bennett was also elected Chair of the Board.

“Liz and R.T. bring expertise in city-building and philanthropy, coupled with an extraordinary commitment to community development and equity, as well as a deep love for Minneapolis and our parks,” says Bennett. “We are pleased that they bring these qualities to an already enthusiastic and visionary Board of Directors, and together we are ready to expand our impact on Minneapolis Parks through an expanded mission, renewed community partnerships, and resolve to support our parks through meaningful advocacy and philanthropy.”

Rounding out the Parks Foundation’s full 20-member Parks Foundation Board of Directors are: Stuart Ackerberg, CEO, Ackerberg Group (Secretary); Mark Addicks, General Mills; Daniel Avchen, CEO, HGA Architects (Past Chair); Dorothy Bridges, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (Treasurer & Chair-Finance Committee); Robert Bruininks, President Emeritus, University of Minnesota (Chair-Development Committee); John Crosby (Vice Chair-Development Committee); Caren Dewer, Executive Director, Urban Land Institute Minnesota; Tom Evers, Executive Director, Minneapolis Parks Foundation; Tom Fisher, Dean, University of Minnesota – College of Design, Joseph Gibbons, First Vice President, Boyd, Bencini, Gibbons & Associates – Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management (Chair-Governance Committee); Shawntera Hardy, Director, Fresh Energy; Sarah Harris, Managing Director, University of Minnesota Foundation-Real Estate Advisors (Vice Chair); Mary McCarthy; Tom Paul, Chief Consumer Officer, UnitedHealthcare; Thomas Pohlad, General Manager, Porsche of Minneapolis; Connie Remele; Paul Reyelts, Retired CFO, Valspar Corp.; Tene Wells, Principal, Tene Wells Consulting. Liz Wielinski, President of the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board and Jayne Miller, Superintendent of Minneapolis Parks, remain ex officio Directors.

The Minneapolis Parks Foundation, which partners with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, is an independent 501c3 dedicated to community investment in the nation’s top park system. The Parks Foundation’s signature projects are the RiverFirst Initiative and Water Works, two design-based adaptive reuse parks projects on the Minneapolis riverfront, and the Next Generation of Parks Lecture Series. Beginning in 2015, the Parks Foundation will also provide key philanthropic support for park enhancements in our neighborhood parks, with a special attention to under-resourced communities; invest in pilot programs and activities that provide new opportunities for people to better connect to each other and our city through their parks; and champion the value of parks and the Minneapolis Parks System through community conversations around national and international park trends and engage volunteers in community-wide, high-impact volunteer activities.

For more information or to support our work, please visit MplsParksFoundation.org.

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Major Funding for MPF is Provided By:

The McKnight Foundation | The Minneapolis Foundation | General Mills

George Family Foundation| Curtis L. Carlson Foundation